FTOPS XI – Ketse Makes Comeback, Zugwat Takes Second Chance

February 12, 2009

Coming off of a multi-million dollar weekend of five Full Tilt Online Poker Series events, the series didn’t miss a beat with two tournament offerings on Monday, February 9. The FTOPS XI was not yet halfway through its 25 tournaments when it welcomed more than 2,700 players to the virtual felt for some exciting online poker action.

Event 11 offered a somewhat unique mix of games in the $200 + $16 HA tournament, which was to be half pot-limit hold’em and half pot-limit Omaha. The guarantee for the event was set at $150K, but the 1,136 field pumped it up to $227,200. Full Tilt pro Eddy Scharf was at the helm to host the action, and when it reached the final table, there was one name that stood out – Ketse. That particular online player had only finished second in Event 6, the $500 + $35 PLO tournament, only two days prior, and now he was going into final table action with the chip lead. It was going to be interesting when it began with the following players and chip counts:

Ketse           1,571,197
BRO20       1,005,672
zoyberg777       815,512
the aviator1       646,834
s00t donkey       583,038
whitehorse5       393,316
junkie4free           228,945
barcs69           226,404
angry tilt           209,082

The very first hand of PLO saw a good deal of action when Ketse got involved with junkie4free and whitehorse5 to see a flop of 7♠-5♥-K♣. After a bet from Ketse, junkie4free pushed all-in, prompting a fold from whitehorse5 and call from Ketse with 6♠-6♥-4♦-5♦. junkie4free showed 10♣-J♠-K♦-A♠ and the percentage in his favor. The 2♥ on the turn was harmless, but the 3♥ on the river gave the straight to Ketse and a ninth place finish to junkie4free, along with $3,635.20.

Speaking of whitehorse5, he gambled in the very next hand and again with Ketse. whitehorse5 pushed all-in with A♠-K♥-9♣-7♠, and Ketse called with A♥-A♣-J♦-4♥. The board brought a pair of tens on the flop and an ace on the turn to give Ketse the full house, and whitehorse5 was gone in eighth place with $5,112. Next up was hold’em and s00t donkey all-in with A-K versus the pocket nines of the aviator1. An ace came on the turn to save s00t donkey, but that left the aviator1 in a state of desperation. All in on the next hand, the aviator1 was eliminated in seventh place with $6,816.

Back to PLO and Ketse in the middle of the action, he found another victim in zoyberg777, who pushed from the small blind with K♠-J♣-7♣-10♦. Ketse called with Q♦-4♣-3♣-3♦, and the board brought a 8♥-Q♣-A♣-6♦-8♦ to give it to Ketse and eliminate zoybert777 in sixth place with $10,224. Next, it was BRO20 all-in against Ketse, the former with A♦-10♥-8♥-6♦, and Ketse with 10♣-10♦-9♦-7♦. The dealer gave them a pair of queens but nothing to save BRO20, who left in fifth place with $14,200.

Ketse continued his rampage, and barcs69 decided to get in the way. The two players played the hand cheaply to see the 5♠-5♣-K♥ on the flop and the K♣ on the turn, but after the A♥ on the river, barcs69 pushed all-in holding an ace for top pair, but Ketse called with a king for trips, sending barcs69 out in fourth place with $18,744. Soon after, angry tilt got all-in preflop with Q♥-J♥ in a hold’em hand, and Ketse called with K♦-7♦. Right on track with Ketse’s final table thus far, the board came 3♠-K♣-A♣-K♠-9♥ to leave angry tilt with $23,969.60 for the third place finish.

Heads-up began with the following chip counts:

Ketse 3,816,146
s00t donkey 1,863,854

Despite the momentum of Ketse earlier, he wasn’t able to run away with it, as s00t donkey came back to take the lead for awhile. But Ketse was able to reclaim it, which led to one final PLO hand. The two players raised and reraised to see the 2♦-3♥-Q♦ on the flop. More betting led to s00t donkey calling all-in for his last 755,972 holding A♦-5♦-K♣-K♥ for a hand with quite a few outs. Ketse showed Q♥-10♣-5♥-4♣ but was only behind until the turn brought a 6♥. The 8♥ on the river left s00t donkey with a second place finish, which was worth $32,376.

Ketse finally claimed his FTOPS victory, which was worth $51,120 and the satisfaction of beating his FTOPS XI personal best of two days before.

Event 12 brought an interesting tournament to the mix. It was pegged as a $1,000 + $60 NLHE second chance tournament, and it meant that any player who busted in the first two hours of play would be allowed one free rebuy. There were 1,630 players who bought in, and 972 of them ended up using the free rebuy. With the guarantee set at $1.5 million, that was clearly overruled by the $1,630,000 prize pool created by the registrants. And when the dust settled and the final nine were set, there was a familiar name atop the leaderboard. TheUniverse112, coming off a victory in Event 7, was ready to take another. All of the chip counts were as follows:

The Universe112       3,419,801
SowersUNCC       2,033,579
tzahi2008           1,811,149
pwnosaurus       1,810,970
Zugwat           1,410,969
Randomizer2       1,105,866
Adgee               627,893
ali sani               547,677
JohnnyM77           242,096

Short-stacked JohnnyM77 decided to gamble on the first hand with A♦-Q♣, and Adgee called with pocket kings. The board brought nothing for the all-in player, and JohnnyM77 was ousted immediately in ninth place with $22,820. And in order of short stacks, it was ali sani next to be at risk, and he did it with pocket deuces preflop. Zugwat was the caller holding pocket eights, and the board blanked, sending ali sani out in eighth place with $32,600.

Randomizer2 couldn’t get much going either, but played it cautiously with TheUniverse112 to see a flop of 3♠-8♦-7♥. After a raise from TheUniverse112, Randomizer2 reraised all-in with A♣-8♣, but TheUniverse112 was right there with the call and pocket queens. The turn was a 2♠ and the river a J♥ to end Randomizer2’s tournament in seventh place with $45,640. Adgee started strong but finally decided to put his tournament life on the lline preflop with A♠-J♦ against the K♠-Q♣ of SowersUNCC. The board came 9♠-6♥-10♥-10♣-J♥ to give SowersUNCC the straight, and Adgee was forced out in sixth place with $70,900.

tzahi2008 thought he found a solid double-up opportunity with pocket aces, especially when Zugwat called with pocket kings. But a king came on the flop to give Zugwat the set, and tzahi2008 couldn’t grab another ace to save himself. tzahi2008 was eliminated in fifth place with $97,800. Next up was TheUniverse112, looking for another FTOPS XI title for the collection, and he got involved with SowersUNCC to see a flop of A♦-2♠-8♥. More betting led to the 10♣ on the turn, at which point more chips flew and led to TheUniverse112 reraising all-in with J♦-9♥ and the straight draw. SowersUNCC called with A♣-8♣ for two pair, which held up when the river brought a 10♦. TheUniverse112 was gone in fourth place with $130,400.

Looking to get to heads-up was pwnosaurus, but Zugwat doubled through him to leave him all-in from the small blind on the next hand. pwnosaurus held 8♠-6♠ when it happened, and SowersUNCC made the call with A♣-3♥. The board came A♥-8♥-K♥-5♦-10♠, and pwnosaurus was pwned in third place, which was worth $164,630.

Heads-up then began with the following counts:

SowersUNCC 8,356,676
Zugwat 4,653,324

The action lasted quite awhile, and the chip lead changed hands various times throughout. Finally, with Zugwat holding a slight lead over SowersUNCC, Zugwat pushed all-in preflop with pocket fours, and SowersUNCC decided to call with A♥-J♥. The race situation was fruitless for the underdog when the board came 9♣-K♦-K♣-8♦-7♦. SowersUNCC was finally eliminated in second place with $221,680 for the effort.

Zugwat claimed an FTOPS title and the substantial $350,450 cash prize for the victory.

Plenty of events remain in FTOPS XI, but even better, satellites continue to run around the clock. However, time is of the essence! Download Full Tilt Poker now, use the bonus code “POKERWORKS” for a 100% bonus on any deposit up to $600, and don’t let any more FTOPS XI action pass you by.

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